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Τρίτη, 8 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Photo of Lemnos and Lemnos sights

You can spend a day in the capital of the island, Myrina. Walk the traditional stone-paved alleys and admire the old stone mansions that will appear before you. Make a stop at the Archaeological Museum of the city which was built by Italians. It’s one of the most beautiful museums you have ever seen. The Byzantine Castle, built by Andronicus Comnenus the 1st, awaits you above the scenic city. You can visit it and if you are lucky, you may meet a deer since the Castle (aka Kastro) has been a valuable refuge for deer for several years. Walking down the Castle you can visit the small Port of Myrina with its traditional color, the fishing boats and the taverns by the sea.

Kastro (the Castle)

When you reach it by the sea, the island welcomes you with its imposing Castle! The Castle of Myrina is built on a rocky and craggy peninsula, and it communicates with the mainland only from the east. It is the largest fortress in the Aegean Sea. The impressive Castle of Myrina is a Byzantine fortification positioned on the highest point above Myrina Town, the capital of Lemnos island. The construction of this castle was commanded in1186 AD by the Byzantine emperor Andronicus Komnenos, on the site of an earlier ancient fortification.

The constrcution of the castle was continued by the Venetians in the 13th century, when they consquered the island. The Castle of Myrina took its present form in 1207-1214, by the Venetian Filocalo Navigajiosi, the Great Duke of Lemnos. The formation it has today goes back to 1207, when the Venetian Filocalo Navigajoso, Great Duke of Lemnos, fortified Myrina. However, it is his successor Leonardo Navigajoso, the one who strengthened the castle and held it under his dominion for 45 years.

During the Ottoman Rule, the Castle was inhabited byTurks. During the siege of Myrina by the Russian fleet in1770, the castle walls went under great damages. At the east and south side, the wall is high and the number of towers relatively large, while on the north and west side, the wall is much lower and the towers scarcer. At the highest point of the hill there is a half-destroyed fort-like building with many interior spaces. Today, the Castle of Myrina is a monument open for public visit. Those of you, who will find yourselves in Myrina by night, will experience an amazing spectacle! From a long distance, when the Castle is lit... it looks like it’s flying in the sky!

Poliochni: Europe’s oldest city!

You can visit the oldest city in Europe, Poliochni, located opposite of Troy. Poliochni started as a small Neolithic village during the 4th millennium BC (!) and it developed in a thriving city of Copper. Besides, the excavations that took place in the island at times have proved the existence of a Neolithic civilization in Poliochni. So, you can wander in the oldest city in Europe and see ancient pottery, huts, barns, aqueducts and parliaments of another era.

Make a visit to the Kavirian Sanctuary and the Cave of Filoktitis

The Kavirian Sanctuary is located in the south-east side of the island, within 47km from Myrina. The Sanctuary is referred to the Tyrrhenian Stage and it was used then to conduct special events, the Kavirian Sacraments. After taking a tour in the Kavirian Sanctuary, you can visit the Cave of Filoktitis which is located right under it. According to mythology, this is the place where the Homeric hero was taken by his comrades, when he was bitten by a snake, hoping that it will cure him!